WNBA players offer up concessions in latest CBA proposal

The Women’s National Basketball Players Association shared another collective bargaining agreement proposal to the WNBA on Tuesday afternoon that included some concessions on several hot-button issues, including revenue share and housing, sources confirmed to The Post.

The players union is requesting an average of 27.5 percent of the team and league’s gross revenue over the course of the agreement, including 25 percent in the first year, sources with knowledge of the bargaining process confirmed. That’s a tick down from the 31 percent average (and 28 percent in Year 1) the WNBPA had been asking for in its previous proposal. 

Players have maintained housing as an essential benefit, so they are asking for team-provided housing to be available for all players in the first few years of the new deal, though they are open to phasing out that requirement for the highest-paid players on multiyear, guaranteed contracts, sources said.  

Under the previous CBA, players who didn’t live in team-provided housing could receive a stipend to live elsewhere, but the WNBPA has agreed to get rid of the stipend moving forward.

The WNBPA declined to comment on this news, while the WNBA didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for comment. 

Details of the WNBPA’s proposal, which also includes a suggested salary cap of fewer than $9.5 million in Year 1 (down from the $10.5 million the players union was previously asking for), were first reported by ESPN. 

The WNBPA’s counter comes 11 days after the WNBA finally issued a response to the players union’s previous proposal from Christmas morning. 

The WNBA made some concessions of its own in its latest proposal, including an increased salary cap from $5 million to $5.65 million in the first year. 

The league also outlined clearer policies to ensure housing would be covered for certain cohorts of players, including the two new developmental players, first-year players and those on minimum contracts. 

Both sides are feeling the time crunch, with the 2026 season scheduled to start May 8.

The two-team expansion draft, free agency and the college draft can’t happen until a CBA is ratified.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said over the weekend that he wasn’t ready to set a drop-dead date the WNBA needs for a new CBA before the 2026 season would have to be delayed. But Silver did admit that “what I’d love to accomplish is putting pressure on everybody.” 

Silver wanted both sides to be working with “next-level sense of urgency.” 

Both the players’ union and the league offering some concessions in their recent proposals is part of the give-and-take process of negotiations and is a sign of progress.